In 1754 the colonial government in South Carolina established a ferry to connect the fort with the growing European settlements on the higher ground on the east bank.

The fall line is often marked by rapids at the places where the river cuts sharply down to lower levels in the Tidewater or Low Country of the coastal plain.

[12][13] The leaders of South Carolina kept a close eye on the new college: for many years after its founding, commencement exercises were held in December while the state legislature was in session.

Secession may have been declared in Columbia, were it not for a smallpox outbreak that moved the convention to Charleston, where South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union on December 20.

The University of South Carolina grounds were converted into a military hospital since its role as an educational institution had been made moot after its entire student body volunteered for the Confederate Army.

Reporters, journalists, travelers, and tourists flocked here to see a Southern state legislature whose members included freedmen (former slaves), as well as men of color who had been free before the war.

In 1917, the city was selected by the US Army to be developed as the site of Camp Jackson, a U.S. military installation that was officially classified as a "Field Artillery Replacement Depot".

The former Confederate states had effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites through passage of discriminatory laws and constitutions that made voter registration and voting more difficult.

[26] During the 1940s African Americans increased activism for their civil rights: seeking to reverse Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination that pushed them into second-class status in Columbia and the state.

His administration developed the $60 million Palmetto Center package, which resulted in construction of an office tower, parking garage, and the Columbia Marriott hotel, which opened in 1983.

On July 10, 2015, the flag was removed from the monument to a museum in the wake of the Charleston church shooting a month before by Columbia-born resident Dylann Roof.

[34] On December 28, 2022, federal legislation authorizing a study of ride-sharing safety practices, with passage by the US House and Senate, was sent to President Biden's desk.

[37][38] Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, protests and riots spread to South Carolina and Columbia, which included the burning of several police cars and the breaking of business windows.

[2] Approximately ⅔ of Columbia's land area, 81.2 square miles (210 km2), is contained within the Fort Jackson Military Installation, much of which consists of uninhabited training grounds.

Major manufacturers such as Square D, CMC Steel, Spirax Sarco, Michelin, International Paper, Pirelli Cables, Honeywell, Westinghouse Electric, Harsco Track Tech, Trane, Intertape Polymer Group, Union Switch & Signal, FN Herstal, Solectron, and Bose Technology have facilities in the Columbia area.

The older buildings lining the Vista's main thoroughfare, Gervais Street, now house art galleries, restaurants, unique shops, and professional office space.

One of the most ambitious development projects in the city's history is currently underway which involves old state mental health campus downtown on Bull Street.

Movies filmed in the Columbia area include The Program, Renaissance Man, Chasers, Death Sentence, A Guy Named Joe, and Accidental Love/Nailed.

Located in the historic Congaree Vista district, this facility is close to restaurants, antique and specialty shops, art galleries, and various nightlife venues.

[85] Columbia has also hosted the women's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 1996 and 2000[86] and the 2007 Junior Wildwater World Championships, which featured many European canoe and kayak racers.

In 2023, the city broke ground on a $24 million redesign of the park which will include a rebuilt central fountain, a new band stage, public art, enhanced lawn areas, and new amenities such as strolling gardens and an overlook plaza.

In November 2014, Columbia native and resident of Boston, Henry Crede, gave a bronze statue and plaza in the park dedicated to his WWII comrades who served in the Navy from South Carolina.

Granby is a 24-acre (97,000 m2) linear park with canoe access points, fishing spots, bridges, and ½ mile of nature trail along the banks of the Congaree River.

In the Five Points district of downtown Columbia is the park dedicated to the legacy and memory of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

The monument is inscribed with a portion of King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued that self-defeating path of hate.

Known for its giant hardwoods and towering pines, the park's floodplain forest includes one of the highest canopies in the world and some of the tallest trees in the eastern United States.

Congaree National Park provides a sanctuary for plants and animals, a research site for scientists, and a place to walk and relax in a tranquil wilderness setting.

Greyhound Lines formerly operated a station on Gervais Street, in the eastern part of downtown, providing Columbia with intercity bus transportation.

The company has 29,500 team members, 18 acute and specialty hospitals, 2,947 beds, 300 outpatient sites, and more than 5,100 employed and independent clinicians across its clinically integrated inVio Health Network.

In October 2009, Columbia was listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the best places to retire, citing location and median housing price as key contributors.